Star Wars: Maul

Lockdown

By: Joe Schreiber

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Set before the events of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, this new novel is a thrilling follow-up to Star Wars: Darth Plagueis.

It's kill or be killed in the space penitentiary that houses the galaxy’s worst criminals, where convicts face off in gladiatorial combat while an underworld gambling empire reaps the profits of the illicit blood sport. But the newest contender in this savage arena, as demonic to behold as he is deadly to challenge, is fighting for more than just survival. His do-or-die mission, for the dark masters he serves, is to capture the ultimate weapon: an object that will enable the Sith to conquer the galaxy.

Sith lords Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious are determined to possess the prize. And one of the power-hungry duo has his own treacherous plans for it. But first, their fearsome apprentice must take on a bloodthirsty prison warden, a cannibal gang, cutthroat crime lord Jabba the Hutt, and an unspeakable alien horror. No one else could brave such a gauntlet of death and live. But no one else is the dreaded dark-side disciple known as Darth Maul.

Praise for Lockdown

“Schreiber . . . was a great choice for this novel, imbuing the story with a dark, foreboding tone while never quite stepping into the horror territories that Death Troopers and Red Harvest took us.”—Jedi News

“Fans of the dark side should rejoice. Lockdown delivers a can’t-put-this-down tale of scum and villainy.”—Club Jade

“[Lockdown is] an action-packed ride that spins one entertaining chapter after another. The multiple layers of story keeps readers guessing what will happen next and just who will live and who will die. . . . It certainly adds to the character of Darth Maul while matching [Darth] Plagueis’s complexity with sheer fun. . . . Five out of five metal bikinis.”—Roqoo Depot

“Somehow, Schreiber is able to skate the line between hard-hitting prison story and the adventure and excitement I love from Star Wars in a way that doesn’t betray either genre. It’s really quite masterful.”—Big Shiny Robot

“Lockdown is an exciting, engaging read. . . . It actually lines up beautifully for a sequel, which I, for one, would love to read.”—Coffee with Kenobi

“The novel makes The Clone Wars better. It also illuminates The Phantom Menace. I think it’s the hallmark of the best tie-in fiction to resonate throughout other parts of the expanded universe in that way.”—Knights’ Archive

“By the fiftieth page, I was hooked. . . . Lockdown is a wonderful ‘antihero’ novel, where it’s just fine to root for the villain, because there are even worse things out there. This book was so fun and entertaining. I’ll have to keep an eye out for more Star Wars books from Schreiber.”—Seattle Geekly

©2014 Joe Schreiber (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“[Lockdown is] an action-packed ride that spins one entertaining chapter after another. The multiple layers of story keeps readers guessing what will happen next and just who will live and who will die. . . . It certainly adds to the character of Darth Maul while matching [Darth] Plagueis’s complexity with sheer fun. . . . Five out of five metal bikinis.” (Roqoo Depot)

“Schreiber . . . was a great choice for this novel, imbuing the story with a dark, foreboding tone while never quite stepping into the horror territories that Death Troopers and Red Harvest took us.” (Jedi News)

“Lockdown is an exciting, engaging read. . . . It actually lines up beautifully for a sequel, which I, for one, would love to read.” (Coffee with Kenobi)

Maul + Prison = Too Much Fun

Joe Schreiber proved on Death Troopers that he can write for very specific subgenres. With Maul: Lockdown, the prison subgenre is given the Star Wars treatment. The first half of the book plays through every stereotype and expected classic bit imaginable in a way that's too much fun to just skip over. As Darth Sidious observes, any situation is rendered unstable when Maul is present, and Schreiber goes out of his way to show us exactly what that means. The second half, however, spends some time showing us the superior workings of Maul's mind and his worthiness to be a Sith apprentice. Being an amazing fighter isn't enough to be a classic villain, after all.

Taking place during the events of Darth Plagueis, shortly before The Phantom Menace, this book is NOT the sequel you might expect. Where it's placed in the timeline is the necessary due to Maul's limited operation periods in the Star Wars timeline, but Lockdown doesn't use Plagueis as a crutch. Instead, this is a standalone story that has but one objective: to let Maul loose to wreak havoc. Ironically, unleashing Maul means putting restraints on him, and that only seems to make him even more dangerous.

As with Death Troopers, Schreiber's incredibly descriptive prose brings a heightened sense of action and grit to the story. The inevitable fight scenes play out vividly.

Veteran Star Wars narrator Jonathan Davis is once again in top form, bringing the characters and situations to life as few others seem to be able to do. Mix in sound effects and a handful of classic John Williams musical cues, and the movie in your mind is complete.

Prison+Aliens+Sith Lords=Amazing.

I was sold the second I saw that Jonathan Davis was the narrator. His ability to switch between characters seamlessly, giving each a unique attitude and voice of their own, is really what shines in his works. But given the addition of the ambient noise and additional sound effects in Maul: Lockdown, I think this is now one of my all-time favorite audiobooks, with or without Mr. Davis. And plus, who doesn't love Darth Maul? Props to Joe Schreiber for creating such a wonderfully dark and rocksteady story!

Never Stops Moving

Interweaves seamlessly with "Darth Plagueis", but feels a bit contrived at parts with too many characters and loose ends

Maul is raw power.

I gave this book 4 stars because it is not on the top of my list but it does deserve a decent rating. It explains more about who the elusive character of Darth Maul is. Before listening to this book all I knew of Maul was that he was the guy Obi Wan Kanobi kills. I was pleasantly surprised. The narrator did an incredible job of bringing the gritty violence to a new level of reality and each fight sequence was more exciting than the next.

Maul

This is, in my opinion,one of the best character portrayals ever. It’s up with Kenobi and Path of Destruction. Maul is sent to a supermax prison to find an elusive weapons dealer. He will have to kill not only for his mission but for his very survival as Cog Hive Seven doubles as a gladiatorial gambling establishment. This book is super violent so not for the faint. I had so much fun “seeing” Maul unleashed. His character is perfect and matchwith the Clone Wars. This book also flows seamlessly with rest of the EU.
P.S. If you always wanted to see Maul fight and kill a Yuuzhan Vong barehanded this book is for you.

Best I've read so far

Maul is so bada$$ in this! Thus should really be made in to a movie.

great

Surprisingly sprawling story with very captivating twists for a story that takes place entirely in one prison.

Great book! Too bad it's not canon anymore

Really wish this was canon because it gives us a look into Maul's past. Besides that it was a great read!

Great expanded universe story

Great story for the expanded universe. It really complements the person's that is Darth Maul.

good, but...

The story was really fun and the voices were great, but the sound effects were soooo bad. Honestly though they were so bad they gave the work a layer of probably unintentional humor. It really broke the mood because I was laughing so hard whenever there was that weird screaming noise that sounded like someone was secretly trying to strangle a Muppet in the background of the recording room. If there was an option to take out the sound effects it would be great. Because having them in is definitely a wild, if surprisingly endearing, ride - it might be nice to have the option for a more suspenseful version. I've never personally had any problems imagining what the sound effects of a book would be as I listened, and I sincerely hope that this book is not intended for kids, so I'm not sure why they were ever added in the first place. To be fair I personally had a great time, though I'm not sure if all horror fans would have the same appreciation for such comically off the wall sound design.